Missile shooting toy



Nov. 26, 1963 w. YOUNG MISSILE SHOOTING TOY Filed Aug. 12, 1960 2 MM W.

BEQ/WKMW United States Patent 3,112,109 MISSILE SHOOTING TOY Lyman W. Young, 1431 Bluff Drive, Santa Barbara, Calif. Filed Aug. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 49,385 3 Claims. (Cl. 273-101) My invention relates to games or toys of the missile shooting type and has particular reference to a toy employing a movable target that captures and retains the missile.

Missile shooting toys are inherently attractive and become games of skill when a target must be hit by the missile. When the targets are moving, the degree of skill and hence interest is enhanced. I have found that a missile that simulates current interest satellites, rockets and related space activity are currently of great interest to those who enjoy missile games.

One of the drawbacks of most missile games is the difliculty of recovering the missiles whether they hit the target or miss the target. I have devised a target mechanism that retains the missile when the target is struck and which collects missiles that miss the target. In both events the spent missiles are readily available to the players.

I prefer to move my targets in circular paths and thus simulate the paths of satellites. For purposes of playing games with my toy, the capture of a missile by the target may be considered as placing a satellite in orbit. Or the circular paths may be considered as planets revolving about a sun.

It is a general object of my invention to provide a missile shooting toy wherein the target captures or retains the missile.

Another object is to provide a toy wherein a missile shooting mechanism is centrally located and targets move about this mechanism.

A further object is to provide a missile shooting game wherein the missiles are conveniently retained Whether they strike an object or miss a target.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a moving target toy having a missile shooting mechanism wherein the targets can simulate satellites moving about a planet.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent in the following description and claims, considered together with the accompanying drawing forming an integral part of this specification and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a presently preferred apparatus embodying my invention, and

FIGURE 2. is a vertical sectional view through the central globe of FIGURE 1 and illustrating the gun mechanism and the supporting structure.

Referring to the drawings, a base 5 may support a central framework 6 which I prefer to have in a generally spherical shape so as to simulate the earth or other planet. Disposed within the globe 6 may be a gun mechanism generally designated as 7 and having a muzzle 3. This gun is adapted to propel missiles 9 along a characteristic missile path or trajectory. Disposed at the top of the globe 6 may be a rotor 11 having outwardly projecting arms 12 secured thereto at the outer ends of which may be pouch-shaped or bag-shaped nets 13 each having an open mouth 14. These pets 13 are so supported on the arms 12 that the open mouth 14 is presented to the muzzle 8 of the gun so that a projectile or missile 9 which strikes the net 13 will be captured and retained by the net 13.

As previously mentioned, I employ a mechanism for capturing or catching missiles 9 which miss the targets 13 and for this purpose a bracket 16 may be secured to the base 5 to support a net 17 which also may have an open mouth 13 presented to the muzzle of the gun 8. This open mouth 18 is disposed along the trajectory of the missiles 9 and accordingly will receive or catch any missiles that miss the targets 13. For convenience in using the game, it may be disposed upon a table and to facilitate this operation I provide a downwardly projecting edge 19 which may engage the edge of a table to help position the game.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 2, the principal structural member is a Z-shaped piece 21 which may be screwed or otherwise secured to the base 5. An upper portion of the Z member may be apertured as at 22 to receive a gun action 23 into which may be pre-fitted or otherwise secured a gun barrel 24 terminating in the muzzle 8 previously described. The gun action 23 may be reduced in size at its lower end to define a slide hole 24 through which a piston rod or plunger rod 26 may reciprocate. A compression spring 27 is disposed within the action 23 and urges a piston 28 upwardly or toward the left in FIGURE 2. The upward motion of the piston 23 may be limited by a stationary ring shaped stop 29 secured in the gun action 23.

The gun action 23 may have an upwardly projecting branch 31 into which a magazine tube 32 may be prefitted or otherwise secured. The missiles 9 may be placed in this magazine tube '32 and pile up on one another as illustrated disposing a lower ball 9 at all times in front of the piston 28. A lower end of the piston rod 26 may have an enlarged grip member 33 which may be grasped by the fingers of the user of the toy to pull the piston 28 downwardly against the compression of the spring 27.

Disposed on the upper end of the Z member 21 may be a motor 34 for rotating the rotor 19 which is supported by the motor 34 by means of a shaft 36. This motor may be of any desired type, either electrical or windup or may be a spring driven motor, energized by rotating the rotor 11 backwards against a spring to compress it.

Various materials of construction may be employed. Preferably the 2 member 21 is of metal for strength and rigidity but the other structural members excepting the motor parts may be formed of plastic. The sphere 6 may be in two parts to facilitate construction and these may be glued or otherwise fused together into the completed shape. The base 5 may be of plywood or any other suitable material. The targets 13 are preferably of netting but other suitable materials may be used.

In operation the game apparatus is disposed on a table and the downwardly projecting strip 19 may engage the edge of the table. The missiles 9 are fed into the magazine 32 where they stack upon one another holding the bottom missile 9 by their weight. The motor 34 is then energized causing the target nets 13 to rotate in a circular path. The user then manually grasps the gun handle or projection 33 pulling it downwardly against the compression spring 27. When the gun handle 33 is released the spring snaps the piston 28 to the left striking the lower ball 9 causing it to shoot along the gun barrel 24 to emerge from the muzzle 8 to travel its characteristic trajectory. If the player of the game or user of the toy has correctly judged the speed of the target nets 13, the missile 9 will enter the open mouth 14 of the target net 13 and be captured and retained in the downwardly projecting pouch of the target 13. If, however, the user misses the target 13, then the projectile 9 will enter the stationary net 17 Whose mouth '18 is disposed along the trajectory. In this fashion no missiles will be scattered about the room and all of them will be readily available.

Various games may be devised from my toy; for example, diiferent colored missiles 9 may be employed and the nets 13 may have corresponding colors so that the correct color of ball must hit the net of the corresponding color. The players of the game may consider that the missiles are satellites which, if properly aimed, are captured by the gravital field to enter an orbit described by the circular paths of the target nets 13. To simulate this type of play the globe 6 may have a map on it and the missile 9 may emerge at Cape Canaveral, Florida, or other well-known launching site.

While I have described my invention with respect to specific embodiments, I do not limit myself to these embodiments but claim all such modifications and variations that fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

1 claim:

1. A missile shooting toy comprising: a generally spherical frame; a gun having a muzzle mounted in the frame to shoot missiles outwardly therefrom along a trajectory; a rotor mounted on the frame; arms secured to the rotor; and pouch shaped nets secured to the outer ends of the arms to intersect the gun trajectory as they revolve, and each of said nets having an open mouth that is oriented facing the gun muzzle when the net intersects the trajectory, to act as missile retaining targets.

2. The toy of claim 1 in which a stationary net is mechanically interconnected to the gun to have a fixed position relative thereto along the gun trajectory and which stationary net has an open mouth facing the gun muzzle and which is disposed outwardly of the target nets to capture missiles that miss the target nets.

3. The toy of claim 1 wherein the frame is secured to a flat base, a stationary net is secured to the base out- Wardly of the moving target nets and along the missile trajectory; and a downwardly projecting strip is secured to the base to engage an edge of a table upon which the toy may be placed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,736,244 Baker Nov. 19, 1929 1,927,424 Trubenbach Sept. 19, 1933 2,534,730 Peacock Dec. 19, 1950 2,734,745 Tarte Feb. 14, 1956 2,886,321 Tarte May 12, 1959 2,905,468 Ellman Sept. 22, 1959 2,915,314 Phillips Dec. 1, 1959 

1. A MISSILE SHOOTING TOY COMPRISING: A GENERALLY SPHERICAL FRAME; A GUN HAVING A MUZZLE MOUNTED IN THE FRAME TO SHOOT MISSILES OUTWARDLY THEREFROM ALONG A TRAJECTORY; A ROTOR MOUNTED ON THE FRAME; ARMS SECURED TO THE ROTOR; AND POUCH SHAPED NETS SECURED TO THE OUTER ENDS OF THE ARMS TO INTERSECT THE GUN TRAJECTORY AS THEY REVOLVE, AND EACH OF SAID NETS HAVING AN OPEN MOUTH THAT IS ORIENTED FACING THE GUN MUZZLE WHEN THE NET INTERSECTS THE TRAJECTORY, TO ACT AS MISSILE RETAINING TARGETS. 